Envelope



Feb. 12, was.- E 5w." I 1,990,760

I ENVELOPE Filed NOV. 15, 1933 17377572257:- W/ard 5 47/17"? PatentedFeb. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENVELOPE Willard E. Swift,Worcester, Mass., assignor to United States Envelope Company,Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application November 15,1933, Serial No. 698,169

Claims. (Cl. 229--80) 5 it, as is necessary with ordinary envelopes.-

In United States. Letters Patent No. 1,768,836 issued July 1, 1930,there is shown and described an envelope which does not requiremoistening in order to seal it, this patented envelope beingcharacterized by the gumming of corresponding areas of its seal flap andrear wall with an adhesive which does not require moistening, such as arubber solution. Consequently, when the gummed area of the flap isfolded over into registering relation with the gummed wall area andpressure applied to the overlying areas, the envelope is sealed.However, because of the tendency of the gummed areas to adhere to eachother, as when packing or otherwise handling the envelope prior tosealing, it is necessary to provide separate means for preventinginadvertent adhesion such as strips of paper between the gummedsurfaces, as disclosed in the aforementioned patent, which procedureadds materially to the cost of manufacturing and marketing suchenvelopes.

According to the present invention, there is provided an envelope of theabove indicated character in which the gummed areas are eifectivelyprevented from inadvertently coming into contact prior to the actualsealing of the envelope, thereby eliminating any special precautions inthe packing thereof. The above and other advantageous features, of theinvention will'hereinafter more fully appear from the followingdescription with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of an envelope with adhesive applied thereto inaccordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates folding of the envelope of Fig. 1 preparatory topacking without registration of the gummed areas.

Fig. 3 shows the envelope of Fig. 1 in a sealed condition.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the envelope utilized for the purpose ofembodying the invention is shown as being of the .so-called square flaptype with a seal flap 1 and bottom flap 2 of substantially the sameform. With the seal flap 1 extended as shown, parallel bands of gumming3 and 4 are applied to the flaps land 2respectively, the gumming beingof such a character that one gummed area will adhere to the other gummedarea when pressed-in overlying relation, while neither gummed area willadhere of itself tothe material of which the envelope is made.Preferably the gumming 3 and 4 is applied in the form 5 of a dispersedrubber solution, or as natural or compounded latex, the invention alsocontemplating the use of other similar adhesives in the form ofthermoplastics, such as arclor resins or galyptols, either alone or incombination with rubber.

After application of the gumming 3 and 4 as shown in Fig. 1, the gummedportion of the seal flap 1 is folded along a dot and dash score line 5as shown in Fig. 2,,so that the gumming 3 is entirely concealed, afterwhich the entire seal flap 1 may be folded along the score line 6 tobring the flap 1 into overlying relation with the fiap 2 preparatory topacking the envelopes. With the seal flap 1 folded down, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 2, it is obvious that' there is no possibility ofcontact between the gumming 3 and 4, owing to the fact that the gumming3 is entirely covered by the previous folding along the score line 5.Furthermore, the flap 1 is maintained in its folded back condition bythe pressure between adjacent envelopes, when packed.

When it is desired to use the envelope, the flap 1 is opened with itsgumming 3 exposed as shown in Fig. 1, so that after insertion of theenclosure in the envelope, it can be sealed by folding down the flap 1as shown in Fig. 3. 'This brings the gumming 3 and 4 into exactregistration, so that the sealing is completed by merely exertingpressure on the overlying gummed areas. The adhesion between the gummedareas of the seal flap and envelope body is such that the envelopecannot be surreptitiously opened, as by steaming, due to'the waterproofnature of the gumming. Furthermore, any attempt to separate the flapfrom the body by pulling will inevitably result in pulling the gummingfrom one or the other of the paper surfaces, or in tearing the paperitself.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention thereis provided an envelope which does not require any moistening in orderto seal it, nor does it require the application of moisture to a stampin order to attach the same to the envelope. Furthermore, the envelopeis so constructed that the gummed areas which are adapted to adhere whenengaged with each other are maintained out of engagement, thuspermittingthe envelopes to be packed in'the usual manner, withoutpossibility of inadvertent adhesion between the gumming on the sealflaps andrear walls of the envelopes.

I claim,

1. An envelope having its seal flap and rear wall provided withcorresponding areas of gumming adapted to adhere upon contact,characterized by preliminary folding over of the gummed area on the sealflap to cover itself and prevent registration of the gummed areas whenthe seal flap is folded down for packing the envelope.

2. An envelope having its seal flap and rear wall provided withcorresponding parallel bands of gumming adapted to adhere upon contact,characterized by folding over of the gummed band on the seal flap tocover itself and to prevent adhesion between the bands when the sealflap is folded over for packing the envelope.

3. An envelope of the square flap type having its seal flap and rearwall provided with parallel bands of gumming adapted to adhere uponcontact, with the bands of gumming at equal distances from the line offolding of the seal flap,

characterized by preliminary folding over of the gummed area on the sealflap to cover itself and prevent contact between the gummed areas whenthe seal flap is folded down for packing the envelope.

4. An envelope of the square flap type having its seal flap and rearwall provided with parallel bands of gumming adapted to adhere uponcontact, with the bands of gumrning at equal distances from the line offolding of the seal flap, said seal flap providing an additional line offolding extending along one edge of the gumxned area to permit foldingover of the gummed area to cover itself and prevent registration thereofwith the gummed wall area when the seal flap is folded down for packingthe envelope.-

5. An envelope of the square flap type having its seal flap and rearwall provided with corresponding parallel bands of gumming adapted toadhere upon contact; with one band extending along the margin of theseal flap and the other band extending substantially midway of the rearwall, preliminary folding over of the band of gumming on the seal flapto cover itself serving to prevent registration of the gummed bands whenthe seal flap is folded down for packing the envelope.

WILLARD E. SWIFT.

